Playing catch up

September 12, 2017 ·

Y’all.

It’s been so long since I’ve just written a normal update on life that I believe I have forgotten how. But I feel like so much has been going on that I can’t even remember everything I wanted to make sure I remembered. So here’s the short version of what I’ve been up to:

Slowly losing my mind.

Thank you for listening.

I realized this morning that this is our fourth week of school. I mean we’re getting progress reports sent out this week which means we are in full on school mode even though I feel like my brain is still trying to wrap around the routine and schedule of it all. Just yesterday I felt genuinely surprised when I had to get up and figure out what to pack in Caroline’s lunch, like it was a whole new thing instead of something I’ve been doing for the last three weeks.

But it has been non-stop around here. When you start the first week of school with a solar eclipse and end it with a devastating hurricane and then follow all that up by driving to Dallas for a soccer tournament during a gas shortage on Labor Day Weekend with a child who starts running a fever, it leaves you feeling a little bit like IM’MA NEED A MINUTE.

And then last night was Back to School night where parents walk their child’s schedule and meet their teachers. It was the first time I’d ever actually been inside the high school with the exception of the auditorium and I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. I thought P was going to know it all since he actually attended the exact same high school thirty years ago, but apparently his memory is either bad or they’ve moved some things around. For instance, we ended up in the Rocketry department trying to find the cafeteria. The thing about having a high schooler is I am totally relying on Caroline to be a self-manager. I trust that she is doing what she needs to do to keep her grades up and make corrections on tests and all those things because she has proven to be responsible for these things in the past and tends to stress about her grades more than I do, but sitting in those classrooms last night must have awakened some latent post-high school stress in me because I dreamed all night about oversleeping for exams or getting lost on the way to Biology or forgetting Geometry theorems. Which is interesting considering I never really learned any Geometry theorems to begin with.

All that to say, the schedule has been crazy. Between soccer and school and having a book coming out in less than a month, I’m in need of a vacation or a nap or a nerve pill or some combination of all three.

Here are a few pics just so I can look back and remember what was happening in this span of three weeks that I barely remember.

This was during the Labor Day tournament in Dallas. Her team made it to the semi-finals which was actually exciting because Dallas tournaments are usually the toughest competition we face. Like I said, Caroline was sick all weekend long but wanted to play anyway, so her coach put her in for limited amounts of time during each game. And I was glad she was able to contribute something because when we arrived in Dallas late Friday night and she had fever, I had my doubts that she’d even get out of bed. I made her get in the shower and in her pajamas so she could go straight to sleep and she hugged me and said, “I can’t believe I’m sick and we’re here in Dallas and staying in this really terrible hotel room.” And she wasn’t wrong about any of that.

But we made the most of it and had a good time with maybe the exception of the Aggies losing to UCLA. On the upside, I have now experienced an emotional reset when it comes to this football season and am prepared for whatever comes our way…you know…like nearly losing to Nicholls State.

Then all of last week was basically a blur as I tried to play catch up on some projects and collected things for Hurricane Harvey relief. At one point my guest room was at least three layers deep in bins of clothes, boxes of diapers, towels, linens and hygiene products and I have to say that as awful as all of this has been and will continue to be for people, I have been so encouraged to see the way everyone has pitched in to help each other. It’s made even the most cynical part of me believe that most of us are always looking for ways to help.

Even Mabel.

She has found solace in writing haikus as she is wont to do.

Water rises deep
Yet humanity prevails
What time is dinner?

Okay, so maybe she lacks a little introspection.

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well. Let’s continue to pray for those in Texas and Florida who have been so affected by Harvey and Irma and continue to find ways to help them rebuild their lives. My web designer, Cathy, has put together a raffle with some great prizes and all proceeds go directly to benefit Hurricane victims. You can find out more here. And Bayou City Fellowship in Houston is also a great place to find resources on how to help or donate.

I’m not an Aggie girl, but I LOVE me some Kevin Sumlin. I know it was a hard loss, but I am real bummed about the way he is being treated because of a football loss. Fingers crossed things start looking up and he can at least make it until the season is over before he is given walking papers.

I am cracking up that y’all ended up in the pit with rocketry instead of the new cafeteria! I had to ask the study hall teacher what was actually in the pit now! Yeah funny have 30 years completely erases your directional memory. Go Mules!!

You are SO wise letting Caroline be in charge of her school work. I have seen gifted kids fail out of college because they had never learned to manage their assignments and school work while in High School. Good job!

I recently found your blog thanks to a church bible study…SO STINKING GLAD I DID. My husband and I are huge Arkansas Razorback fans, so we’re in our Bye week preparing for your Aggies. I think you can take some solace in the fact that your boys can likely BTHO mine. It’s a heartbreaking time to be a Hogs fan.

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Who is Melanie?

My name is Melanie and, in some strange twist of fate, I’m also known as Big Mama because I started this blog in July of 2006 when my daughter, Caroline, was not quite three years old and I was in the process of convincing her that BIG girls use the potty and BIG girls don’t have pacifiers, thus she thought BIG was the highest compliment in the land and began referring to me as BIG MAMA.Read More